Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 90268 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90268 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
It was somehow more unsettling than if it hadn’t fit at all. The blouse followed, rough against my skin, and then I put on the vest, which cinched my waist tighter than I thought it would. By the time I shrugged into the blazer, I barely recognized the girl staring back from the floor-length mirror.
She looked like she belonged here.
It was the biggest lie of them all.
The expensive fabric couldn’t erase who I was, and it only made the whispers in my ear much louder, they repeated over and over again to run. I reached up, touching the crest against my fingers. These uniforms weren’t meant to express yourself for who you were. They were a reminder of who you were expected to be.
Everything that made me still existed, and I needed to remember that more than ever before. This Academy wouldn’t strip my identity, no matter how hard it tried.
Today wasn’t just my first day of classes at a new university. No, it was far from that. It was the first day I’d willingly step into the lion’s den instead of running from it.
Taking a deep breath, I walked over to the vanity in my en suite bathroom to do something with my wavy hair. I thought about putting it up, but at the last second decided to just leave it down. Outside, the Connecticut air carried autumn, and the crisp breeze gave my hair more volume.
I reached for the small makeup bag I brought with me and applied some mascara and a little eyeliner to accentuate my dark brown eyes. I ended it off with blush and a nude lip stain. After I was done, I caught myself in the mirror one last time before I grabbed a pair of black knee-highs from my dresser and then my black boots.
Picking up my backpack on the way out of my bedroom, I paused at the door, trying to settle the anxiousness of what was to come. My boots clicked against the marble floors, echoing through the hallway. Once I was in the kitchen, I grabbed a muffin on my way out the garage door, running into Alfred.
“Your chariot awaits,” he greeted, gesturing to his SUV.
“I’m good.” I stepped past him. “I can walk.”
“Miss—”
I turned, still backing away. “I said I could walk.”
He eyed me for a second. “Are you upset about the other night?”
“What do you think?”
“Miss Belladonna—”
“I told you not to call me that.”
He didn’t falter in replying, “I’m ordered to.”
My eyebrows pinched together. “Is that all you do? Follow orders?”
“If I want to keep my job.”
I shrugged. “At what expense?”
“I think you have it all confused.”
“Considering no one will tell me what all is, you bet your ass I do.”
“Miss, you’re attending the best private university money can buy and that’s all that matters.”
“I guess there’s one thing about you, huh? You never go off script.”
With that, I spun and left.
The conversation with him sat heavier on my shoulders than my backpack did. I tightened my grip around the leather strap, stepping beneath the wrought-iron gates of my uncle’s estate.
I couldn’t help but look over at the Devereaux’s property. It was screaming at me. I swear if you said it fast enough, you could hear the devil’s property.
I instantly wondered if I’d run into the beloved son at school and if we’d have the same classes or be around the same people or if we’d see each other at all. The thoughts tormented me the entire walk to the Graves Academy. It was about a mile down the road, only taking me twenty minutes to walk there.
Despite there being some houses around the university, I was the only one walking. Extravagant cars drove by me while I strolled down the sidewalk. Once I crossed the campus gates, I noticed the voices stayed low, almost reverent, disappearing beneath the toll of distant church bells.
Leather loafers clicked against centuries-old cobblestone paths. There was so much ivy climbing the buildings that looked more like castles than classrooms, swallowing all the weathered stone with its thick emerald vines. It was the Gothic arches stretched toward the sky, still painted with the last warmth of August, that held my attention the longest. The stained glass windows caught the morning sun, scattering these jewel-toned lights across the courtyard.
The architecture of the buildings was something else, taking my breath away with its historical exquisiteness. They were cryptic. However, it didn’t detract from its beauty. It simply added to it.
Students drifted across the grounds dressed in identical uniforms to mine, the guys wearing slacks instead. They managed to fit each person flawlessly, tailored rather than issued. Expensive watches peeked from beneath the crisp cuffs of their button-downs. Their designer shoes cost more than someone’s quarterly paycheck.
Money didn’t whisper here. It introduced itself before anyone had to open their mouths. I caught more than one stare in my direction. Some people were subtle, while others didn’t care, being unapologetically curious.